District imf colum



v 'L ummm 4 E. E. CLEMENT RADIO METERING SYSTEM Filgd Apgt 14. 1922 I I I l I I I l l l I I I I l@ ff aIIIIIIIIIIIIII IEI l I l I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ".4 I I i Patented Jan. .6,

.c i-Uuiree STATS. Meer 1 EDWARD E. cLEiyiisN'r, or WASHINGTON. mere-:refr orcoiuinnn, AssIGNon fromm WARD E. ooLLAnAY. or wnsmnoron. marmer 'or ooLUMBA. Y

.eippiicaubn aiefi'aiig-iist i4, i922.

T() aZZ Infini/i it I1mi-y concern.:

Bc it known that I, Enwann E. Cnnnn'r'r, a citizen 'ot the United fr' it residi iii` at 7Wasliiiilgrtcii; in the District 'of Colinnhia.-

' ereiicc heine; had therein to the accompanyi Vmay be existing telephone 'lines iup; drawing.

This invention "relates to radio systems; and has for its ob]ect thc production of 'Such a system in which service can bc rcndered subscribers ou a nieteizcd'hasis, as in telephone exchange ayatcn'i's; This object is attained by ct'ninecting,- the' radio stations with a central station by wireliiics, which aii'd cansin'g the conditionv ot' .use or disiisel ot the radio apparatus to produce` changes in thc Wire lines which will cause theoperation ot individual line meteringr apparatus at the f central station, so as to register the ainouiit of such' use at each substation.. This system of metering is particularly adapted for use With an exchange broadcasting system s ueh. as that described in my (impending application executed. and tiled of even'date hei-efl with, Serin No. 581,829. V My invention isillustrated inthe acconipanying drawing, -in which :5

Fignl is a diagram nofra- Combined wire i and radio system equipped,Witli'iiidividual lstation, meters at-the'central olice; and

Fig. 2" is a fragmentary. diagramA-,ofi a modrication. l 'f l Referring to, the drawing, A is a jsub- Scribersstation equipped 'with telephone. instruinents for' talkin'gfand'signa'hng over the line`v` Wires 18-19.

A is' the radi'ophone substation of the saine subscriber, 'containing a radio receiver, lLiatte-ricsA1 and B1, iin-extension'| telephone-set T-t, controlled by a switch It', and. a switch hook H2 controllingy `the iilainent circuit and also placing' a ground-on the `tip conductor 118 oi *he line 'lien the radio receiver is in use. the cnsions of line Wiresl 1,819'to' the radiohone are controlled by .a cut ofi' relay L4 .if 2 *and shunting condense said relay being energized;'byjlin'l irrent when the iiiie is in use telephonically. tension Wire 19C is connected to the bus Wire. 7 O of tlie"battery A1, and extension wire v18@ goes to the switch hoek H. by Wlf'iich-itis*v grounded when the Serial No.' 5S l .831.

radiophone ie in use. .iti-anch Wires 18er and 199 pass from the rclayL4 as direct continuations of line Wires to the telephone set T-. lVire 18"' goet-i to the induction. coil l and by nire to the switch 7L. lNiro 19e `roes to the transmitter "l" 'and thence by wire 7i to the switch k@ A l'nanchwire 'ltVgoes'througli a condenser to the sec 'assscuibly may then be provided with an eve S0 that it may he hung; up ou the hook itl. Such 'an assemblage ot telephone transmitter and receii'er is shown for cxainplc inI Letters` Patent No. 1,382,273, granted. June 21,` lSlQLto W. W. Dean. l v

At the central otl'ice thc line wires 18-19 terminate on multiple jacks J with which cooperate. plugs typiiied by P', 'for telophonic connections. Multiple Wires 1S", 19 and 19 are carried to tho radio switchboard where they terminate on jack J2, the sleeve wire beingl continued through a bach coul tact oil cutA off relay L to .the bus bai' olf the main battery B', While. the tip Wire. is continued through ajnornia'lly open contact'oi the relay .LGO to the Winding of a motor Atest .relay M. the other Side otwliich is connected tothc bus hai' of the battery B.

`vals determined accordi-ng to theiiiature of .the service and the charge to be inade thereenA for. For example, if a charge ot five cents is to be made for every tteen minutes of use ot the radio receivers at the suhstations, vthen the meter coinniutator M2 should make one halt rotation every fifteen minutes, and at the cud of every such period the relay L00 will be enorrizcth'and relay M will be sup# plied with battery current whereby if there is a. ground on wire 18 at the radiophone substation, said relay M will pull u land register one unit of time or one unit c arge onthc line meter. It Will be understood of course that the relays M and Lu and L in this case are individual to the line and to tho substation, but that the meter commutator M2, the battery B and the high Volt board so as to leave rent, may all be common to the entire exchange. The rel-ay LG isv responsive to the commutitor M? only when cut ott' relay-Le is deenergized, andL its action is momentary, disabling the eut oft relay L but energizing the cut olf relay 'L3 on the telephonie switchthe tip side of line clear. If a plug is in anyjack, however, relay L is energized thereby as Well as relay La,

'and relay L@ is disabled, so that when a line 4is connected the meter will not register.

`1 when therelay M pulls up its armature, the. construction of the meter being such that when its armature is closed Iagainst the eon-A tact point shown, the high winding will he vshunted by the low Winding, whereby sufiicient powei" to turn the meter ratchet is assured.-

While the Wire lines are in use for'conversation, theY cut ofi relays L3 and L must be energized, and at such times the metering system is disconnected for the moment from the telephone line. Furthermore, as there' will be periods for which no charge should be made, such as those in which a program is announced, weather reports are given, and the like, a master switch is provided at l0() for disconnecting the common metering :ipparatus. lVhen this switch is open, any service rendered will be free.

lVhen it is desiied to increase the charge, as for example for special programs, or the like, thc metering commutatoiM2 is speedetl up accordingly, so that it will record more units in a given time on the station M. The adjustment o1 the metering commutator takes care of this contingency automatically. To disable the meter circuit on an individual line, I provide a switch 101,-which may be a single unit, but is indicated in the diagram by separate switch unitsl No. 101 for cach Wire. When open the test relay has :no ac cess to-the line and any service rendered is therefore free.

It will be noted that communication between the operators on the telephone switchboardand those on the radio switchboard. respectively7 is by means of an order circuit or circuits. The reason for this is that the extension phones T-t at the radio substation-Will most frequently be used for access to the radio operator, and when a call of this characteris made, the answering operator on the telephone switchboard will not trunk it\throu'gh, but will instruct the radio operator over the order circuit, giving the nurnber of thc calling line, so that the radio operator may go in on that line by meaisA of his plug P3. For outgoing calls to the radio substation',z the radio operator of course has direct access to the line through the jacks J2, and can observey the operationot thcradio receiver by having the subscriber close his switch k while keeping the transmitter T in the position shown, in front of the loud.

speaking or other receiver of ythe radio set.

In Fig. 2 I have shown the metering apparatus connected through and controlled by a' spindle m around circular contact banks c', c2, c, 04,0, c,'respeotively. The baul; cou-y tacts'cz. c4, and c are solid rings extending.

around the oirole,while thecontacts c', c. etc., typify'ciroular Aseries of individual 'com tacts, each set connectedto ta wires' 'tron an individual line as indicate 'Gontact f" `is connected to the individual line meter l\l which is the same in every particular. as the ineter M in Fig. 1, aiid"located the same.

Contact c2 is connected to the meter gener ator M3; contact c is connected to' the tip side of line 18 for test; contact c* is connected to Winding or" test relay M', which in this case is common to all the lines and brought into connection with eacliin turn as the switch M2 is rotated: contact c5 is con nected to the wire, 19h lead-ing to test rings ot jacks il". .l2 and to the windings of cutol relay L3: and contact c is connected tc the windings oi a sleeve -test relay Lm. the other side ot which is connected to battery.

The switch rotates onlyT when it isdesired to meter the service; idle and the Wipers m, m2,' etc., rest on Ydead points, so that no lines are connected to them. lVhile metering, the switch isui'riven at such speed and at such intervals asthe predetermined rate of charge requires, as hereto fore explained. and bringsin'e after line under test to ascertain if its adio receiving set is in service and if so,-register a unit charge for each rotation. It a line is, not in use telephonically, and its radioset is in use. when the wipers come on its contacts the relay L will 'pull up' in series with the At other times it is line cnt-off reiay L and relay'M vwill getl current from battery B through tip side 18 of line to ground at the radio station switch hook H, closing circuit from meter gene.-

rator M3 through contaets'm2 and m. to line meter lM'.

If the' line is inv use telephonically,with`a:ff

plug in a jaclnthe test of the wire 19by Wiper c will find battery potential thereon from the cord battery connection to B or B: hence relav L will not be energized, and the meter M will not be actuated.

Switches of this type may also be employed' l ed circuit otherwise complete lto the wind-` ensue' from the subscriber through "changes, against toconnect-the radiooperator to the. lines for control, conversation, etc., taking the place of jacks lJ2 and plugs P3. Insuch case the operators ymay have dials or keyboards for actuating -the selec-tive switches, as well understood in the telephonie art.

In operation7 lwhen the radiophone receiver at'the subscribers station i'sin use, the. instru1nent,'.l."--t is -lifted oli` the switch hook, in order-.to close the iilament circuit, and thereby the contacts of the switch' hook H2 ground the'wire 18c vand produce-a. grounded circuitvthrough to the central office' over't'he tip' side ofthe telephone line asjollows: ground at switch hook H2, Wire l' c,linev wire 18, branch tip conductorlSa at the central oitice, 'to the radio switchboard, contacts of relay L60, winding of relay M', B, andtckground.'"During the program period, the commutatoi" M2 is continuously operated, and' at periodic intervals closes the vfollmving circuit.: battery B. switch 100, commutator M2, switch 100, switch 101, contacts of relay' L,`winding of relay L60 to ground.v This energizes the relay L0", which closes its contacts, and there'is av groundings oli-rela M-Q-the latter becomesvenergized andf'c hamster circuit of the particulartliiie inquestion, as follows: gen` erator M2 s'witc 100, contacts of' relay M', to highre'sistanc in dng of meterM, and to ground,V 'Theaneter will startte pull up, and before the strain of turning the dial becomes apparentgijts armature will close a short circuit Vthrough its low resistance winding, of current will whereupon a rus the battery B 10i, contacts of relayLwindings of meter M, andl ground, back to battery. The consequentenergizatfonis suiiicient to actuatc the meter, and record one unit of use.

When the subscriber has finished using his radiophone, he may hang up the instrument 'FL-t on the switch hook, thereby breaking apart the contacts offiz, and taking the ground ofi' the \wirc 18. Obviously, there being then no grounded circuit for the relay M at central, the '.eriodic energization of relay L will pro uce no result, and no 'time-use will be recorded against the line in question. However,

forgetfulness 'or 1n- HZ in its tent, will leave his switch hook This 'operative' or grounding position.

yiroulel"result constant'metering ot time him, were itnot for the master-switches V1.00, which as heretofore deofscribed.aersupposedito be opened during;

' on' radiating periods. subscriber would be charged only for actual program periods, eveni though he lettrrhis instrument constantlywcomiected for with said is known that in ordinary radio practice,

switch 100, battery as follows B',

it may happen that' where receiving instruments are installed in public places, that the iilament circuits and thc loud speaker circuits are frequently left closed continuously, but in-such ordinary practice there is no metering of the service, and as I consider the apparatus and vmethods herein described tobe broadly as well as specifically original with me, I shall claim the same accordingly, lincluding` in my claims the feature of disabling all n1cters, or any particular meters, after they are enabled at the -subscriliers station, so as to prevent overcharging. A further statement of thought need not be given, as the radiophone receiving'v apparatus and the circuits with which the same` is connected, form no Apart in themselves of thc present invention,` except as they are used 'in combination with the part-s necessary tor metering. phone switch are standard 1vVestern Electric No. l, so known in the art, and are equipped .with the usual line meters L3, which are *enerv prized through the cord circuit by an oper` ator, who ordinarily applies a high voltagrci generator to the high Winding ot' tliem'eter to be actuated, and thereupon produces suiiicient encrgization to close the circuit of the low winding.wliich in turn receives a rush of current from the main battery and actuates the meter. This is precisely the same as the operation of the meter M herebetore described. lt is to be particularly noted that while I have made it possible by the means disclosed herein to energize separate telephone' and radiophone meters over the same wires, I have Vmade such separate radio m'etcrs irresponsive to any telcphonic use et' the lines 18-19, or the telephone switch board circuits JP, or the telephone meters La. At the same time, I have rendered it possible to separately control radiophone meters without interference with anyot' the aforesaid telephone apparatas, including` the telephone meters, and all this l believe to be novel and ori ina-l with myself and shall make -it the suject matter of claims accordingly.

' The expression used in the claims hereinafter is not to be construed as a limitation to a separate radio operation it ice, comprising a plurality of siibscribers.

telephone central station, wire r stations, a y lines interconnecting them, aradio centrall statipnhaving access to and means for con- Vwire telephone lines, a plurality of radio The tele-ll board circuits shown hereinV a radio central station ubsc'ribers 'receiving stacentral station in the sense of a broadcasting l For example, itmay` i lll fdl.-

tions also having access to and associated nitlr said vire telephone lines, radio receivizre; apparatu'` at eat-h subseribers station, means e-:mtrolled in the use of said apparatus to prot-lure :t rimuge rin the condition oi" the nire line leading from said Substation. and metering` means at the central station resnfuisive to sueh rhanged condition or" the line to register the use of the substation radio apparatus; but irresponsive to flug' ehruges Aurototeein the use ol; the telephone api'aratus as such.

The system claimed in e'laini l., with meat lo artuate thr` .ventral station metering' means periodirally. to measure time of ll."i.. i

IS. 'lfh'e system claimed 'in claim l. with individual station meters at the ventral station. and periodic fl. The system claimed in claim l. with variable speed actuating 'means Vt'or the meters. wherelrr the rate ehargred u1a \7 be varied :u'eoi'ding' to the rhararter and value of the service rendered, by registeringl more or less time units in a vgiven period.

The system claimed in claim l2 With the wire lines connected to telephone apparatus at the subscribers stations and'to a telephone sa `itehboard at the central station, means normally. when the lines are telephonieall)T idle, Connecting` them for radio use, but

substation actuating` means therefor.

actingto disable the radio connections to said lines when the substatlons are in use telephonieally. y

(i. The s vstemelaimed in claim 1in which 35 there are means at each substation for starb' ing its meter when receiving and'means' at the central .station for disabllng or Stopping said meter. l

7. A system for rendering measured radio 40 service, 'comprising a central station, a plu' ralit)Y of substations containing'radio reeeiving amfa'ratus, a pluralityvof individual meters for said substations means at each for individually starting its 45 meter when receiving radio matter and means at the central station common to all the substations,` for disabling or stopping all of said meters, whereby vperiods of' free service maybe determined bythe Central 50 olliee exclusively. y

8. A. system for rendering measured radio service, comprising a central station, a plurality ot substations containingradio receiving apparatus, a plurality of individual 55 meters Afor said substations, all located at the central station, means at each substation forl individually connectingr its meter for operetiomend means at. the central station for actuating, controlling and disabling said meters indivduiilly and colletively;

In testimony whereof I hereunto atlix"ruy""` signature. w

EDWARD E. eLEMENgr. f* 

